A Tribute to Blue 7.11.11

I've decided to feature some of my work at Le Cordon Bleu since in this class we are allowed a lot of creative freedom.  So I don't feel like I'm just presenting someone else's work or someone else's recipes.  These are my own creations; thus, they merit some nice pics.

Blue Bear made from marzipan
Here's a picture of my favorite childhood teddy bear, Blue Bear (or just "Blue").  He inspired my latest figure made from marzipan. The real Blue used to have a mouth and a fuller nose, so I recreated those in the figure.  I made the marzipan figure have a kindof sad expression on his face.  Also, the real Blue used to be pudgier, but not as chubby as the figure.  Over time, his batting has lost it's fluff.  The marzipan figure is made from uncolored, blue tinted, and black colored marzipan.  The mouth was painted on using food coloring.

Snoopy cocoa painting

The canvas is a piece of marzipan rolled out and then cut using a cookie cutter.  The outline is painted using a mixture of cocoa powder and cocoa butter.  The colors were painted on using food coloring in alcohol (high proof vodka).  I'm not that good of an artist so I traced this snoopy, not drew freehand.

Snoopy's doghouse made from marzipan
Hopefully tomorrow I can make a small woodstock to go on top.

Angry Birds cocoa painting

Angry Birds marzipan figure
There are some really great Angry Birds cakes.  Just try Google imaging them.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies II 7.5.11

I baked these cookies as a thank you.  I forgot my school uniform and had to borrow one.  I don't remember if I substituted brown sugar Splenda cup for cup last time, or if I only used half the amount of equivalent brown sugar.  This time I used all brown sugar, baking the recipe exactly as directed.  There was not a big difference in spread, and the cookies were sweet.  I liked the Splenda cookies more actually.  People always say they taste the Splenda after I've told them there's Splenda in them.  I'll have to do a blind taste test, to see if people really can taste the difference in these cookies. 

Here's a picture of the formed cookies before baking.

After baking.

Radius 7.1.11

Radius, 8 High Street, Boston, MA
PJ Waters, Pastry Chef

Classic Tahitian Vanilla Crème Brulée

The creme brulee was delicious and soft.  A thicker crust, which I like actually.  A very generous, filling portion.

Pilon de Chocolat – bittersweet chocolate cone, peanuts, fenugreek ice cream, raisins, caramel

Fenugreek is a spice, which gives the ice cream a butterscotch-like taste. Unfortunately, I didn't get to taste the ice cream.  The chocolate cone was filled with a chocolate cream, which you can't see in the picture.  The first picture above, shows the orientation of the plate as it was served, but didn't make the best picture, so I rotated the plate and took another so you can see the caramel, raisins and fenugreek ice cream. 

Assorted Bite-sized desserts.  Amuse bouche for dessert!  Espresso truffles, spiced mango gelee, and apple-honey-peanut tartlet.  Unfortunately, I didn't like any of these.  The espresso in the truffle was too strong for me.  I'm not a mango fan, and the spicy mango isn't something my taste buds are drawn to.  I'm not sure why I didn't like the tartlet.  As I'm writing this, I can't even remember what it tasted like.  Well, not memorable is not a good sign. One thing I really loved about this dessert plate, was the appearance of the truffles.  They were just perfect!

Semolina Bread 7.1.2011

Hi-Rise Bread Company, 208 Concord Ave, Cambridge, MA
Cambridge Farmer's Market at the Charles Hotel

I'm on vacation this week and was able to finally stop by the Farmer's Market in Cambridge.  I went on Friday, although there is also a Sunday market with different vendors.  There was a bread stand, which was irresistable for me to stop at.  I ended up buying a loaf of semolina bread which is made from semolina flour.  Semolina flour is made from durum wheat:  a hard, high gluten wheat.  It is characterized by its yellow color.  This bread was soft and dense.  I really liked it.